


Compromise

by bjfic_archivist



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Canon, Drama, Future, No Slash, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-01
Updated: 2007-07-01
Packaged: 2018-12-27 00:06:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12069714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bjfic_archivist/pseuds/bjfic_archivist
Summary: Written for a plot bunny by seanmegansean, who wanted a happy Brian/Justin Pride fic.





	Compromise

**Author's Note:**

> Note from IrishCaelan, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Brian_Justin_Fanfiction_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in September 2017. I posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/bjfic/profile).

  
Author's notes: Set ~2 years post Season 5. Beta by Shadownyc.  


* * *

Justin set down his brush and immediately sat down on the floor. The room spun; he put his hands out to steady himself.   
  
"Shit," he thought hazily, "When did I eat or sleep last?"   
  
His upcoming deadline for a show had been all consuming, distracting him from everyday life. His thoughts flashed to his cell phone.  
  
"Brian!" he thought; he dug out his cell phone; the battery was dead. "Damn it." He almost threw the phone. Brian had left a message earlier in the day indicating that he would call that evening. Justin sighed; he had missed it.  
  
As he exited the building, he noticed that it seemed to be getting light outside. He strode around another corner and saw the clock on the bank read 5:30.   
  
He walked quickly the few blocks to his small apartment. He vaguely recalled that his roommate, a friend of Daphne's, had gone to visit a few friends for the week. He let himself in, chained the door, and stumbled to his bed. He fell into an exhausted, restless sleep with his clothes on.  
  
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.  
  
Justin felt like he was walking through a fog as he awakened. He numbly noticed that he wasn't in the loft; which had been the setting for his last dream. He and Brian had been having sex while levitating; he hadn't dreamed of that in years.  
  
He opened the door and stood, blinking.  
  
"What the fuck, Justin? Are you okay?" Brian asked.  
  
Justin just looked at Brian, an incredulous expression on his face.  
  
Brian grabbed Justin's shoulders, "Fuck, Justin, you're scaring me here. Are you all right?"  
  
"Yeah," Justin mumbled, stepping back. "You just woke me up."  
  
"Are you packed?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Is this a particularly hard question? Are… you… packed?" Brian asked, frowning and speaking slowly.  
  
"For what? Oh…" Recollection hit Justin. We're going to Mel and Lindsay's this weekend?"  
  
Brian looked at him suspiciously. "Are you high? Sick?" Brian put his hand on Justin's forehead.  
  
After a second, Justin burst out laughing. "Shit, Brian, I'm fine. I've been working non-stop on a painting for that multi-artist show I told you about, and I just forgot. I finished the painting, so I can go up for the weekend."  
  
Brian raised his eyebrows and bit the inside of his cheek but didn't comment.  
  
Justin grabbed Brian's wrist, pulling him towards the bedroom. "I've got to take a shower, but if you wait here, I'll make it worth your while." He smirked and rounded the bend.  
  
Brian sat on the edge of Justin's bed and looked around; his room looked impersonal, almost like a hotel room. Justin's personal belongings, still packed in boxes, sat piled high in the corner. Only a few items of clothing hung in the closet. Justin's sketchbook sat by the bed; Brian picked it up and flipped it open. Empty.  
  
Justin walked back into the room, his body flushed from the shower, a towel around his waist. He saw Brian holding the sketchbook and looked away. "I haven't had time to doodle much; it's like an assembly line production getting my paintings ready for this upcoming show."  
  
Justin walked over to Brian, who undid the towel around Justin's waist and let it fall to the floor.  
  
He ran his hands down the sides of Justin's thighs and lowered his head, letting his warm breath hit Justin's cock; Justin moaned.  
  
Brian looked up at him, "When's the last time you came?"  
  
"Brian," Justin warned. "Don't fucking start."  
  
"Tell me," Brian asked again softly.  
  
"Whenever I saw you last." Justin mumbled.  
  
"Almost three weeks ago?"   
  
"Must've been."  
  
Brian didn't answer. He started to lick and gently bite on Justin's inner thighs. Justin let his hands fall to Brian's shoulders and then ran them up into Brian's hair. He gasped as Brian took his cock in his mouth while gently rubbing his balls.  
  
Brian set a quick pace, letting Justin's cock come almost entirely out of his mouth. Justin quickly became frantic, pumping in and out of Brian's mouth, his legs shaking. When he came, he moaned loudly, and he would've fallen over if Brian's hands hadn't steadied him.  
  
Brian gave him a quick kiss on the thigh, and then let Justin go. Justin sat down on the bed next to him, "Thanks, I needed that," he said softly. Justin rested his head on Brian's shoulder, amazed when he felt tears welling up. He exhaled out, long and slow.  
  
Brian turned slowly to look at him. He took his thumb and brushed the tears away. Justin, head down and eyes half closed, turned to face Brian and hugged him hard. They sat together for a few minutes, and then Justin quickly stood up and pulled a bag out of the closet.   
  
He unpacked the photos and cookbooks inside and rummaged through his closet for a few pairs of shorts, tee shirts, and jeans for the weekend. About ten minutes later, Brian and Justin buckled their seat belts in the Corvette; ready to drive to Toronto for Pride weekend.  
  
They rode in relative silence as each sat immersed in his thoughts. After about an hour, Brian pulled into a parking spot. "Hungry?" he asked, smiling. Justin just nodded, realizing that his stomach had been growling loudly.  
  
After they had received their food, Justin attacked his burger and fries voraciously. Brian laughed and stole some of Justin's milkshake to go with his coffee and chef salad, which looked suspiciously like iceberg lettuce with mystery meat thrown on it.   
  
Justin, revived after eating his burger in four large bites, took a fry and fed it to Brian, smiling. Brian smiled back, and purposely took Justin's fingers into his mouth along with the fry.   
  
At that moment, the waitress returned, looking bored. "You two want anything else? Pie? Lemon Bar? Cake? Room?"  
  
"Christ, every diner in the world must have cheeky waitresses and serve lemon bars," Brian replied sarcastically, as Justin said, "Chocolate cake, please."  
  
Brian sat back in the booth, watching as Justin lifted a fork full of chocolate icing. Justin took the fork into his mouth, and then pulled it out slowly, his teeth pulling the icing off. Justin sighed and smiled. Brian squirmed slightly in his seat; eyes riveted to the scene in front of him. Smiling, Justin took some cake on the fork and offered it to Brian, who ate it, leaving a tiny bit of icing on his upper lip. Justin leaned across the table and licked it off.   
  
Brian pulled Justin out of the booth and threw down some money to cover the lunch and a large tip. The waitress grinned and shook her head, watching them leave.  
  
When they got back to the car, Justin discovered that the stick shift in the Corvette made giving a blowjob a challenge, but it wasn't impossible.   
  
About an hour later, Justin watched the scenery roll by out the window as Brian turned up the radio. Slowly, Justin felt himself drifting off to sleep. He drew his knees up and turned sideways in his seat. Brian looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Lightly, because he didn't want to disturb Justin, he touched his hair.   
  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Justin slept soundly until he felt the car stop. Brian had parked the car in the street in front of Mel and Lindsay's house.   
  
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty, we're here," came Brian's singsong voice.  
  
Justin laughed sleepily, "Who are you, the evil stepmother?"  
  
"No, that would be Mel."  
  
"Brian…"  
  
"I know, I promise to be relatively civil if she doesn't go for my balls."  
  
"I guess that's all I can hope for," Justin replied, getting out of the car into a blast of heat. Although early June, the temperature easily reached the 90s.   
  
"Daddy! Justin!" Gus called as he came running out of the house.  
  
"He's been waiting by the window, he was so excited for you to get here!" Lindsay followed out the front door.  
  
Gus ran full tilt to Brian and launched himself up in his arms, hugging him tightly. "Daddy, I missed you! Will you and Justin play in the sprinkler with me in the backyard?" Gus spoke so quickly, Brian could just barely make out the words.  
  
"Hey, sonny boy," he said, ruffling his hair. "I missed you too."  
  
After Brian put Gus down, Gus hugged Justin's legs. "Oh, Justin, you and Daddy have to play with me! Come on!" He turned and ran into the house.  
  
Mel came out after she had held the door for Gus. She and Brian nodded to each other, and she gave Justin a hug. "Welcome, hon, glad to see you."  
  
"I'm glad to be here," and Justin was struck by how much he meant it.  
  
"Are you two hungry?" Lindsay asked.  
  
"Justin is." Brian answered, as Justin replied, "I am."  
  
Lindsay looked from one to the other, "Okay then, well, come on in."  
  
After a quick snack, Brian and Justin found themselves in the backyard with Gus, who needed help setting up a plastic Spiderman sprinkler that shot water out in random directions. As Brian connected the hose and Justin turned on the water, Gus prepared himself for battle. He began to run in circles, trying to guess which nozzle would spray so he could avoid it. Soon drenched, he giggled and ran over to Justin, putting his hands on his jeans, leaving two handprints.   
  
"Come on, Justin."  
  
Justin looked at Brian, who sat, laughing, a few feet away on the back steps. "Oh no, I'm not going in there unless you do!"  
  
"My Daddy isn't afraid of anything! He's Superman! He can do it." Gus looked expectantly at Brian.  
  
"Well, when you put it that way." Brian got up and took off his Prada shoes and set them neatly out of the way. Justin laughed at Brian's fastidious nature. God forbid a drop of water touch the leather of Brian's shoes.   
  
Gus started to again run in circles, with Justin and Brian following. Somehow, Brian managed to avoid getting soaked, although Justin's jeans dripped onto the grass. Brian started laughing when he saw the look of disgust on Justin's face.   
  
Lindsay stood on the porch with a huge neon contraption in her hand. "Oh, Justin, I think you might want one of these. She held it up. Emblazoned on the side read, "Supersoaker 8000."   
  
Justin ran up the back steps and grabbed it from her; he turned and kissed her cheek; she had already filled it with water.  
  
Hoisting the heavy water gun, he aimed for Brian, and hit him directly on the ass as he ran by with Gus.   
  
"Oh no, you didn't!" Brian yelled and turned around, only to be met with a jet of spray down the front of his jeans. Gus stood giggling and laughing next to Brian as Justin sprayed them both, and then took off up the stairs to watch with Lindsay.  
  
When the water gun ran out of water, Justin dropped it on the porch. He walked over to Brian, who now stood directly in the spray of one of the sprinkler nozzles, water dripping off his face. Brian raised both his arms, turning his palms up. Justin walked straight into the water, and kissed Brian, laughing.   
  
"You are going to pay for that, you know that?" Brian whispered.  
  
Justin smiled; "You love it; you can't fool me."  
  
Lindsay called out, "Boys, I brought out a few towels, and you both might want to get dried off before dinner."  
  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Later that night, Justin read Gus a story, and then stood watching from the doorway as Brian read "Three Billy Goats Gruff" complete with sound effects for the troll.   
  
They walked across the hall to the guest room. Brian looked at Justin and remarked, "You really scared the shit out of me this morning."   
  
"I'm okay. In fact, now I feel great."  
  
"Good, then you are ready for some punishment for that water stunt." Brian said declaratively, but his expression suggested a question.  
  
"You come prepared?"  
  
"I always have my hand, impertinent one. I suggest you take off your clothes"  
  
Justin slowly undid his pants and pulled off his underwear.   
  
Brian spoke again in low tones, "Ready?"  
  
"Ready."  
  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The next morning flew by as everyone prepared for the big downtown parade. Mel, Lindsay, and J.R., who would be carried in a backpack, dressed in rainbow colors; they were walking with a group of local parents. Given the choice, Gus decided he'd rather watch the parade with Brian and Justin.  
  
Watching the parade with Gus turned out to be hilarious, because he stared open-mouthed at the crazy floats, flamboyant costumes, and fabulous dancers. By far his favorite group, aside from his Momma, Mommy, and J.R., was the group of drag queens dressed as women superheroes, like Wonder Woman and Spider Girl, and inexplicably, the Spice Girls. Gus laughed and pointed, excited.  
  
Justin poked Brian in the side and whispered, "See, he'll definitely be gay!"  
  
Brian shook his head and squeezed Justin's ass, making him yelp. "Didn't the Spice Girls used to be your favorite group?"   
  
Justin shot him a nasty look; Brian raised his eyebrows and put his tongue in his cheek.  
  
"At least I didn't have a huge crush on Patrick Swayze. God, he's so old!"   
  
"You're just digging yourself in deeper and deeper…"  
  
Gus suddenly pulled them by the hands, "Come on, it's time to go find Momma and Mommy! Stop arguing."  
  
Justin and Brian laughed. Gus took their hands, and walking between them, would occasionally pick up his feet and swing as they walked a few blocks to their meeting spot.  
  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
A few hours later, everyone lay sprawled out, resting, at Mel and Lindsay's house. Gus and J.R. napped upstairs; Mel and Lindsay sat out on the front porch, and Brian lay on the couch in the air conditioning, Justin's head in his lap. Justin, somehow, had managed to fall asleep yet again.   
  
Brian watched Justin's chest rise and fall, noticing that Justin's face had aged somewhat since he had first met him. "Shit," Brian thought, "Soon he'll look twenty." Now that all the hoopla and excitement had died down, his concern for Justin returned to the forefront; he'd never seen Justin look so shut-down, so numb as he had when he'd arrived at Justin's apartment. "No, he thought, "That's not true. I haven't seen him look like that in a long time."  
  
He quickly slammed that mental door; he preferred not to revisit the Prom or its aftereffects ever again.   
  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Later that evening, as they danced at a club reminiscent of Babylon, called Fly Nightclub, on a very crowded dance floor, Justin sighed. "I know it's Pride," he yelled, "But I think I've gotten stepped on ten times, and someone just grabbed my ass and his hand literally stuck to my jeans."   
  
"Yeah, some asshole just spilled cheap beer on this Gucci shirt and you're the only fuckable person here. Let's head out and check out a different club.  
  
Justin led the way, emerging into the cooler night air. A bar down the street was playing cheesy love songs. Brian, slightly drunk and high, led the way down the stairs, pulling Justin's hand, and sang the words. "You've got tonight…who needs tomorrow? Let's make it last, babe…" He spun Justin around playfully, and then pushed him up against a parked car to kiss him.   
  
Justin froze, rigid; his thoughts racing. He sucked in a deep breath, and gripped onto Brian's back. It took Brian a moment to notice that Justin didn't seem to be joking.  
  
Justin closed his eyes. He saw little glimmers and flashes of memories as Brian stood supporting his weight. Brian kissing Daphne's cheek and then leading him out on the dance floor, the lights bright. His mind reeled as he reconnected the images; he saw Brian smiling, laughing, as they danced. Brian picking him up and twirling him around, the feeling of air under his feet.   
  
He remembered the kiss.  
  
At this, he took a step backward, and raised his hand to his mouth. He gasped, amazed, and looked up in wonder at Brian.  
  
In a flash, the tables turned; Brian's face drained of color and his voice was shaky.   
  
"Justin?"  
  
"Brian, I remembered." Justin moved and put his hands on Brian's shoulder, leaning towards him.  
  
"What, exactly?"  
  
"The good part."  
  
They stood together for a long time, Brian finally raising his hand to touch Justin's face. Justin's expression pensive; he turned and started walking. Brian walked beside him past the bars and dance clubs.  
  
Finally, they sat next to each other on a bench at the edge of the club district.  
  
For a long time, neither spoke.  
  
Justin turned to Brian and said firmly, "Brian, I need you to hear me. Are you listening?"  
  
Brian shot him an exasperated look, "Yes."  
  
"Good."  
  
Brian noticed that Justin didn't seem flat or withdrawn any longer. His gaze intense; he put a hand on Brian's leg.  
  
"What I have to tell you; I've been thinking about for a long time. I kept trying to force myself to close off these thoughts, but I can't. This weekend, tonight, well, I've just got to face the truth."  
  
He turned so he faced Brian, "I've been in New York for a long time now; trying to convince myself that I had been sacrificing to be with you in Pittsburgh. That I needed to be in New York City for my art. Even though I hated it, even though my life narrowed down to your visits and painting all day and all night to meet a deadline, I needed to be New York so I wouldn't be sacrificing my talent. That's totally fucked. Life isn't about sacrifice; it's about compromise. I need to stop running from it. We need to stop running from it."  
  
Brian sat, dumbfounded.   
  
"No one would ever be together if we didn't fucking compromise. It'll be hard as hell, and I'm sure both of us will have moments where we wonder if it'll work, but I'm moving home and I want to live with you. I don't care where," he drifted off.  
  
Unable to read Brian's expression, Justin then resumed, "That's as far as I've gotten. Oh, and I love you. I'm so glad I remembered parts of that night."  
  
Brian continued to stare at Justin.  
  
Justin raised an eyebrow. "What the fuck Brian? Are you sick? High?"  
  
Hearing his words echoed back to him, Brian smiled slightly, and then he took a deep breath.  
  
"Justin," Brian trailed off, running his hands down his face and letting them drop down into his lap. "When you left for New York, I figured you weren't coming back." He looked at his hands. "I sold the house; I'd pretty much given up that you would come home. I'm not sure if I understand everything you said, but I want you to be a huge, fucking, happy success. If that's in Pittsburgh with me, than I'm the luckiest fucking guy on the planet."  
  
"And no more Pod-Brian?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You'll be the Brian I know?"  
  
"Yeah," he huffed.  
  
"Okay then." Justin got up from the bench, and started walking again.  
  
Brian walked quickly and stood in front of him, blocking his path.  
  
"C'mere," he said, pulling Justin to him and kissing him hard. Justin's arms went around Brian's waist, and they found themselves kissing and dancing to the music pouring out of a nearby club. Justin lifted up on his toes and felt Brian's grip tighten and lift him up. They spun around, laughing.  
  
When the song ended, Justin pulled away slightly. "Let's go. I want to fuck you all night long."  
  
Brian laughed. "We'll see, stud. We'll see."


End file.
